


And They Were Roommates

by Those_Hero_Kids



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Auror Harry Potter, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Healer Draco Malfoy, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-04-11 19:23:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19116133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Those_Hero_Kids/pseuds/Those_Hero_Kids
Summary: After a year of being friends, Harry offers Draco to be his flatmate. Will they be able to survive together? Will Draco ever learn how to work the TV? Seriously, Harry is getting tired of teaching him.





	And They Were Roommates

Harry’s eyes fluttered open and he was met with a familiar blinding light. He blinked a few times and looked around. Merlin only knows what happened this time.

“Oh, good. You’re awake,” came a voice from his right. 

Harry let out a small groan. “Pleasure seeing you, Malfoy. Can I sit up?”

“The pleasure is all mine. And I wouldn’t advise it. You’ve got a broken rib that isn’t entirely healed.”

Harry nodded and turned his head toward the sound of Malfoy’s voice. He was standing before a table, though what he was doing wasn’t clear to Harry. He guessed he was mixing a potion by the way his hands were moving. He looked up at the back of the healer’s head. “Any clue as to what happened?”

“You were hexed and hit your head, from what I could tell. Once again, no one has told me exactly what happened. That is strictly confidential, Malfoy!” He mimicked Ron’s voice. Malfoy shook his head and turned to get a substance that was out of his reach. So, he was making a potion of some sort. 

Harry chuckled softly, which caused a bolt of pain to go through him. He groaned once more and closed his eyes, grasping his side. “You’ve gotten better at that over the years. It’s quite good,” He rasped.

“Ever the flatterer, you are Potter, but I’m not going to remind you to restrain from laughing or talking too much. You never listen anyway. Now, here, drink up. The sooner you’re healed the sooner I get out of here and the sooner I get paid.” Malfoy sat on the chair next to the bed Harry was on and handed him the potion he had been working on.

Harry sat up slowly, inhaling sharply as he did. He leaned against the headboard and started to sip on the potion. The familiar taste of gross-what-is-that filled his mouth. “What do they pay you here anyway?” 

“They pay me well enough. Why? Wanting to become a healer, Potter? The Auror business not as high paying as they say?” Malfoy said, not an ounce of animosity in his voice. He was even smiling.

Harry rolled his eyes. “If I did, I’d be a way better healer than you are, Malfoy.” He said, returning the smile.

“Keep telling yourself that, maybe one day it’ll come true.” 

They both chuckled as Harry took another sip. He scowled. “This is the worst part of coming here. Why must it taste so bad?”

“Glad to know I’m not the worst part,” said the healer. 

“We’ve been doing this for a year. I’ve gotten used to your prattishness.”

“I’m not as much of a prat as you are, Potter. I think I had the most to get used to.”

“Sure you have. But is there seriously no way to make this taste better?” He inquired.

“I mean,” he looked to his shelf of potion supplies, “I’ve seen some sweeteners in some shops, I don’t think I’ve ever bought any, though. I’m not even sure if they allow those. Only for children, maybe.” 

“Well, see if they’re allowed. If not, I’ll buy some and bring it with me on dangerous missions so you could add it to whatever I have to take.” Harry eyed the bottle warily and decided, Fuck it, and chugged the whole bottle. He regretted that immediately. He gagged and coughed. “Bloody hell!”

Malfoy burst into a laughing fit but tried to stifle it as best as he could. 

“Fuck off,” he coughed again and sat up straight. He took a deep breath and touched his side gingerly. “Ow,” he winced.

“It’s going to take a little longer for it to heal you, you dolt. Can you stand?” Malfoy stood up and hid his chuckling with the back of his hand. 

Harry ignored him and stood up slowly. He only felt dizzy for a second. The potion seemed to be kicking in. He felt better almost instantly. “That’s better. Where’s my cloak?”

Malfoy walked over to his coat rack and handed Harry his cloak. “There you are. You know what you’re supposed to do next I suppose. I do advise that you get some rest. You are still mildly concussed.”

Harry nodded and slipped on the cloak. He checked his watch and raised an eyebrow. “Hm, did this all happen tonight? I thought it would be much later. It’s only four A.M.”

“Weasley brought you in around ten. He left at midnight. It is also Saturday now. You’ll be able to get plenty of rest.”

“Right.” He adjusted his sleeves, his eyes still on the man in front of him. “We’re having that get together tonight, aren’t we? You are coming, right?”

Malfoy nodded as he went to open up the door of the room. “Wouldn’t want to infuriate Granger again.”

“Good. I guess this is goodbye then,” Harry walked over to the door then turned to Malfoy, his hand outstretched. “See you later.”

Malfoy shook his hand firmly. “Same to you.”

Harry nodded once more and headed out the door. He walked to the reception area, signed a release form, and said goodbye to Mary the receptionist as he used to floo to get home. 

 

Once he got to his dark flat, Harry removed his cloak, put it on his coat rack, and entered his kitchen. A little four A.M. snack couldn’t hurt. He turned on the light, opened his fridge, and took out a slice of treacle tart that he had been saving. He always had sweets in his flat for days like this. As a great wizard once said to him, “Eat the chocolate, it’ll help.” It was something to that effect anyway. And sure, this wasn’t chocolate, but no one had ever said that other sweets didn’t have the same effect chocolate did. So, treacle tart was his comfort food.

He went into his living room and turned on his tv, hoping something would be on. He sat on his couch and flipped through the channels. He couldn’t help but think of the times when he and Ginny would fight over control of the remote. Once she had learned how to work a muggle TV, he had to kiss control of what they watched goodbye. He smiled to himself. Good times. 

He glanced around the flat and tried to remember how long it had been since she moved out. Six months, maybe? He wondered what she was doing now. He looked at his watch again and shook his head. She’s most likely asleep, git, he thought. Who would be awake at five A.M. on a Saturday? He kept flipping through the channels until he landed on an old cartoon he remembered. Not that he watched it, but Dudley did and Harry would always find clever ways to sneak in a few minutes of watch time. It was a rerun and he could only remember a little bit about the show. He didn't want to try and remember, that would take too much effort. He watched intently for a while until he started to lose focus. 

He took the last few finishing bites of his treacle tart and slouched back and let his mind wander. He ended up thinking about what had just happened with Malfoy and how it was sort of weird how far they’ve come. They were probably friends now, something younger Harry never thought was possible. They’d gotten surprisingly close, too. Hell, they both knew each other’s sexualities even. Another thing younger Harry wouldn’t have ever thought he’d tell Malfoy of all people. He remembered the first time he had Malfoy as his healer. It was so awkward and tense. At that point in their relationship, they’d only ever interacted when they’d greet each other in passing at the Ministry and when Harry spoke at his trial. They were friendly with each other, but there was still an underlying dislike between them. Pretending to tolerate each other had apparently turned into actual tolerance. That tolerance turned into a sort of friendship. He didn’t know when exactly, but it did. He was glad for it too. If not, it would be a wonder as to how he’d survive having Malfoy tend to him so many times after that day. But now they were going to go to a pub later that night. 

Wow, he was thinking too much again. One of the downsides of living alone: too much time to think. If he was gonna do this every night, he ought to take up that offer of moving in with Ron and Hermione. 

At that, he stood up, turned off the TV and kitchen light, and walked into his room. He took off his clothes and threw them into the hamper. He dug around in his drawers for pajamas and quickly put those on. He took off all the extra pillows on his bed—why did he have so many?— and threw on the side of the bed he doesn’t sleep on. He got into bed and took off his glasses. He yawned and turned on his side to get comfortable. Who would’ve thought that Harry Potter would be sleeping on his own for six months of his life. He chuckled out loud and drifted off. 

 

When he awoke again, it was ten A.M. He went to his bathroom and took a shower. When he was done, he put on a red and black flannel with blue jeans. He was supposed to meet with Ron and Hermione for lunch at noon. And he had no idea what to do for two hours. Walking into the living room again, he decided the flat could use some cleaning, but that wouldn’t take too long unless he did it the muggle way. Did he even own a vacuum? It has been a while since he’s been anywhere besides the Ministry, St. Mungo’s, and Ron and Hermione’s. Well, he knew what he was gonna do today. 

 

He walked to the muggle store because it had been a while since he walked anywhere either. As he stepped inside, he was hit with yet another wave of nostalgia. He could recall coming to this store as a child and hating every second of it. Aunt Petunia wouldn’t allow him or Dudley to stay in the car while she shopped because she didn’t trust them in the car. As they walked the store, Dudley would tease and poke him in the most annoying way and Harry couldn’t say anything about it because Petunia would only yell at him. Bloody torture it was. Even worse, he had no say in what food they bought as Dudley did, so he could only look and wonder what things would taste like. He guessed it was satisfying, walking around the store now with a cart of his own, knowing what all he wanted to try tasted like. 

He shook those thoughts from his head and tried to remember where the vacuums and such were. He wandered for a bit until he found them. Looking at the prices he started to wonder if he bought enough money. Why were they so expensive? He checked his wallet and got what seemed to be the best one that fit his budget. He hefted the box into the cart and walked it over to the checkout. After buying the vacuum, he rolled it outside and found a place to Apparate. He ended up in his living room and set down the vacuum and started cleaning. 

An hour and a half later, Harry plopped down onto his couch with a feeling of accomplishment. He also felt like an idiot. He should’ve gone the easier route. At least he got it done. Though, he didn’t expect it to take all of the time he had before lunch. There were things he hadn’t noticed until he started cleaning which caused him to dive deeper into the rabbit hole. 

He looked at his watch and decided that after all he had just done, he could afford to be a bit late if that meant he could take a breather. 

 

“So, how’d Malfoy treat you last night? Still as pratt-y as always?” Ron asked, spreading jam on his toast. 

Hermione had made more of a brunch, which was more than welcome considering Harry hadn’t had breakfast that morning unless the treacle tart counted. Harry shrugged as he bit off a piece of his bacon. “Wasn’t too terribly bad. He was quite alright. Still a prat, though.” 

“He told me he’s considering taking over for Madam Pomfrey next year,” Hermione said, taking a sip of her orange juice.

“Really? He never told me that,” said Harry, trying to seem as offended as possible while keeping a straight face. “How dare he not tell me everything.”

Ron rolled his eyes. “Honestly Harry, I can’t tell if you’re being serious or not.” 

“Thank you, Ron. I pride myself on my acting skills,” Harry puffed out his chest dramatically. 

Hermione shook her head and chuckled softly. “Speaking of Hogwarts, Harry, weren’t you debating on becoming a teacher?” 

Harry shrugged once more, taking another bite of his bacon. “Still am. From what I’ve heard from Neville, it seems like it would be a good job. He’s said they pay as much as the ministry does. I can see why Malfoy would want to work there. I just don’t know if I could handle children and deal with staying there for a long period of time.”

“But don’t you volunteer to teach lessons sometimes, mate?” Ron questioned. 

Harry nodded, “Well, yes, but that’s only one day. Who knows if I can handle a whole school year?”

“You taught Dumbledore’s Army for months, Harry. You were great at that. You were probably the best teacher we had at Hogwarts, besides Lupin, of course,” Hermione pointed out. 

“I did, didn’t I?” Harry stared at Hermione and Ron’s dining table in thought for a few seconds before looking back up at his friends. “But the Defense position isn’t open. There’s someone teaching right now.” 

Ron shrugged, “Maybe they’ll leave or die at the end of the year?” 

“Ron,” Hermione chided. 

“Hey, it’s possible!” 

Hermione sighed and turned to Harry. “If you really want the job, maybe they’ll make you an assistant or something.” 

“McGonagall could also fire the current teacher. I mean, you’re Harry Potter. I’m sure you could get any job you wanted, mate.” 

Harry shook his head. “Minerva wouldn’t hire me just like that. She’s not like everyone else. Besides, I wouldn’t want to cost someone their job. It’s not like I don’t like being an Auror, anyway. I don’t need a different job. What I do need, though, is another roommate. I’m going bonkers all by myself in my apartment.” 

“Our offer never left the table, Harry. We’ve got an extra room upstairs as well as a bathroom,” said Hermione with a kind smile on her face. 

“No, I couldn't. No offense, but I’ve lived with you both for a good chunk of my life. I can’t live with you forever.” 

“You’re not good enough for our house anyway,” Ron crossed his arms. 

The three of them laughed. They continued to laugh and talk for a long while. By the time Harry decided to go home, they only had an hour before the small little get together. It was crazy how fast the days went by with those two.

At home, Harry took another quick shower and changed into something a bit more formal: a button-up shirt and a blazer. He combed his hair to make it a bit tamer and failed, as always. He gave up and Apparated to the pub. He was a bit early, but it was better to wait there than alone in his apartment. 

For a Saturday night, the pub wasn’t all that busy. He guessed that would change once the group was there. Harry went up to the bar and ordered a drink and took it to their usual table. Hopefully, someone was bringing games, he thought as he took a sip. It was his turn last time and he forgot...to buy games. He always forgot to. It was to the point where no one was surprised anymore. Whose turn was it any? He thought. Dean and Seamus maybe? Maybe—

“Well, well, well. What do we have here? The Boy Who Lived sitting in a pub all by himself? I don’t think I’ve seen a sadder sight.” 

Harry chuckled and looked up at Ginny, who was standing next to a happy Luna. “It’s great to see you too, Gin,” he smiled at both girls. “‘Ello, Luna.” 

“Hi, Harry,” Luna greeted as the two of them sat together at the table. 

“I see you two brought the games. What’d you bring? Anything fun?”

“You know we always bring the fun ones. We actually make an effort, unlike some people,” the redhead teased playfully. 

“Well, it’s not like I have time to buy games. I barely have time to buy groceries, nevermind games.” 

“Mhm,” she hummed. “Is Malfoy coming tonight? I bought a game that I’d love to see him play.” 

“He said he would come. Not sure if he was lying or not, though.” Harry looked to the entrance just in time to see most of the group enter the pub. “I guess not. He even bought Pansy and Blaise.” 

“Oh, how fun!” Said Luna. “They’re fun to play games with.” 

“This is gonna be great,” Ginny smirked. 

“We better not play truth or dare again. The last game with them was too much.” Harry couldn’t bring himself to think of their last game. That needed to stay buried deep. 

“But truth or dare is so much fun with Gryffindors,” came a new voice. 

Harry looked up to find Pansy Parkinson. She took a seat next to Luna while Blaise and Draco sat near Harry. 

“Truth or dare? With them? No, thank you,” said Seamus as he and Dean sat Next to Ginny.

Pansy laughed. “Fine, if we do play, my dares won’t be so bad.”

“I don’t trust her,” Dean said. “It’s better to just not play at all.”  
“What, truth or dare?” Asked Ron as he came up to the table. 

“I thought that rather fun,” Hermione added. 

“Because you weren’t the one given horrible dares and truths.” The couple sat down and greeted those around them. 

“Potter—” started Pansy. 

“Yes, yes, I know. Why isn’t it ever anyone else that has to get the drinks? I’m not the only wealthy person at this table.” The man stood as he spoke. 

“You’re The Boy Who Lived. Seeing you serving people like a nobody makes us all feel better about ourselves,” Malfoy was smiling as he did back in their Hogwarts days, all cocky and prideful. 

Harry shook his head. “Why are we friends again?”

“You like surrounding yourself with good looking people, Potter,” he replied.

“I do?” He looked around the table then back to Malfoy. “You must be the exception, Malfoy.” He shrugged nonchalantly and walked off to get the drinks, leaving a laughing table behind him. 

After a few rounds of drinks, they started playing the games. The first few games were muggle party games, such as Never Have I Ever and Charades. While those games were difficult to play—For Charades, they had to cast a silencing charm on almost everyone. Only he, Hermione, and Ginny were the only ones who really knew what they were doing—the wizard games they played weren’t all that hard. Harry and Hermione had played most during their time at Hogwarts, and they didn’t struggle too much with the new games they were introduced to.

When they were done playing games is when most would head home. In the end, it was usually just the Gryffindor trio, who’d leave an hour after everyone else. But tonight was different. 

As Pansy and Blaise stood up to leave, Pansy turned to Draco, who was still sitting. “You’re staying a bit longer, yes?” 

Draco nodded. “See you later.” 

The two Slytherins nodded and walked to the pub’s entrance.

“Finally, a bit of a changeup. It’s so boring with just these two around,” Ron joked.

“And you’re just as delightful to have around, mate.” Harry took a swig of maybe his fourth drink. He wasn’t sure. It might’ve been his tenth. 

“Is he ever not sarcastic?” Draco asked Hermione.

“I don’t think so, no. I think it comes with saving the world,” she answered. 

“I think it’s more reflex,” Ron chimed in. 

“Nah, someone forgot to turn off the ‘Always Sarcastic’ switch in my head.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” Draco shook his head. “So, what have the infamous Golden Trio been up to? Any meddling?” 

“No meddling, but a lot of fumbling through life. What of you then, Malfoy? ‘Mione’s told us you might be the new nurse at Hogwarts,” said the redhead. 

“That’s true, but besides that, not much. I was planning on moving out of the Manor, but I haven’t had much time to look for a new place. Without anyone else there, I fear I might go insane.” 

Hearing this, Harry found it odd how similar their situations were. They were both living alone, edging on madness from it, and both wanted to work at Hogwarts. Strange. 

“Weren’t you complaining about that earlier?” Hermione asked him. So he wasn’t the only one to notice. 

“Have been for a while. Why do you think I’m at your place or in my office most of the time? Can’t stand being alone anymore.” Harry leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. 

Draco nodded understandingly, “It’s absolute torture.” 

“Why not move in together?” Ron suggested. 

“What?” Harry and Draco said in unison. 

“It could be a temporary thing. You’re going to live in Hogwarts next year, right? Live with Harry until then. It’s not very long until the next year starts, and it’s not like you haven’t lived with Harry before. That way you both won’t be lonely or whatever.”

Harry and Draco glanced at each other then looked back at Ron. “How many drinks have you had, mate?”  
“Not very many, and don’t look at me like I’ve suddenly gone mad. It’s a good idea, right ‘Mione?”

Hermione seemed to take a second to think before she answered. “Well, he’s got a point. You two used to live in the same castle together, I don’t see how different being roommates could be. And you’re friends now, aren’t you? It wouldn’t be as bad as it was in Hogwarts.” 

“The idea has merit. It would solve the loneliness problem,” Malfoy stated. 

“How do you know we won’t constantly be at each other’s throats?” Harry brought up. “What if living together sparks that old hatred? I’d rather not lose a friend in all this, especially not the one who’s my healer.” 

“What if this turns out to be a good decision, though? You both would benefit.” Ron sat up a bit straighter. “And you’re both awfully busy. Harry just said he doesn’t spend much time at his apartment. If this does take a sour turn, you won’t see each other that often.”

Harry and Malfoy shared another look. Harry tried to imagine what it’d be like living with an old enemy. He could picture them getting along, but the thought of them going at each other often was still lingering in his mind. He didn’t really understand why, though. It’s not like they’ve fought any time recently. They’ve been getting on rather well. Perhaps he’s over thinking this. How bad could it be?

“I suppose it’s a good idea. We’re adults. We can handle it. What’d you think, Malfoy?” 

“I just hope this drunken deal won’t come back to bite me in the arse. I say we talk about this more when we’re soberer?” 

“I can guarantee I’ll get hurt on Monday, so how about we talk about it more that night?”

“That sounds great. I would like to see the place before we agree to anything.”

“Not a problem.”

“Will this mean weekend brunches with Malfoy?” Ron cocked an eyebrow. “That’ll be interesting.”

“You have weekend brunches?”

“Every weekend,” Hermione clarified. “Harry and I switch between making food each week. It’s a great way to unwind after the chaos every week throws at us.”

“You can cook?” Malfoy looked absolutely shocked.  
Harry chuckled. “My aunt and uncle forced me to cook every meal for them. That’s probably the most valuable thing I got from living with them.”

“What?”

And so the night went on. They talked for the remaining minutes of the hour then they each made their way home.

What an odd night, Harry thought as he lay in bed. I might end up living with Malfoy. How strange. With that final thought, Harry closed his eyes and drifted off.


End file.
